


Perfect Recall

by Theskee



Category: Limitless (2011), Limitless (TV)
Genre: Addiction, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Frenemies, M/M, Slow Burn, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 21:54:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19281943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theskee/pseuds/Theskee
Summary: Eddie knows Brian. He knows him all too well. There's a danger in this partnership that sharpens his senses. He wants to draw closer to Brian's light, but flames that burn bright, burn fast.





	Perfect Recall

**Author's Note:**

> Here's a little prologue for my latest project. It's been a long time since I've written any fic so please be gentle. I do not have a beta reader. ❤️ Enjoy!

Synesthesia.

 

The splashes of color dancing across Brian’s vision as the operatic sound of Hansi Kursch singing about a mythical bard are like swirling northern lights. Brilliant blues and greens and pinks and purples and-- and colors he’s never seen before. The world around him is vibrant and full of energy. His body is thrumming with the high of NZT. It’s unlike anything he’s ever experienced, and he’s done his fair share of dabbling in mind altering substances. Pouring over medical textbooks, things come together, falling into place like the lincoln logs he played with as a child. A pattern forms, an answer arises from piles of data, and Brian swells with pride along with the swell of the music. 

 

_ This is it _ , he thinks,  _ this is what’s wrong with Dad _ .

 

Synesthesia is followed by uncomfortable conversations, and a crash. 

 

Brian struggles to hold onto the energy drinks he’s consumed to try and stay alert, his stomach roiling in protest. He’s jittery and his movements are erratic. One answer, another problem, and no matter how alert caffeine makes him, he’ll never be as alert as he was last night on NZT.

 

Brian’s muscles rub against his bones, he can feel every inch of himself coming down from the drug, but his feet carry him to Eli. He looks over his bank account as he goes and sighs. There’s hope in his heart that Eli will show him kindness once again. 

 

_ Just one more hit _ , Brian thinks,  _ and then I can save Dad and put all this behind me _ . 

 

What he doesn’t think about, is death. He can’t think about that. Mortality is terrifying. How quickly everything can end is so overwhelming, he can’t breathe when he considers it. 

 

Even in the face of a dead body, he can’t think about it. He has to keep moving forward. He has to get another pill. Just one more pill, and he can fix all this. He can prove his innocence, save his Dad, and get on with his life. 

 

He tries to remember the elation of synesthesia as he barrells through traffic. He focuses on what color the sound of the screeching subway would be as he stands on the track. He focuses on the end goal, and not the fear he’d felt with a gun pointed at him. 

 

The first gun is still fresh in his mind when he finds himself on the wrong end of a second one. The world moves like a blur around him. He’s sick with withdraw, bleeding from his leg, holed up and trying his best to keep it together. If only he’d had just one more pill.

 

“The… movies always… made it look so easy,” Brian’s hands shake as he tries to stay separate from the pain. His vision is darkening around the edges while his cheek rests against the cool tile. He feels like he could fall asleep, and peacefully stay that way, forever. He doesn’t think about death. He thinks about soft pillows and cozy comforters, and his mother’s soothing voice singing James Taylor to him to help him fall asleep. 

 

_ When you’re down, and troubled, and you need some love and care, and nothing… oh… nothing is… going right _ .

 

Brian thinks of that voice, and lets himself slip away. 

 

-

 

Eddie Morra likes to think of himself as a well balanced individual. Not too much of a pragmatist to lose sight of idealism entirely. He keeps an ear to the ground at all times, because he has to, but he remains hopeful because he wants to. 

 

“How’s he looking?” Eddie asks, facing the windows, arms folded across his chest. He can hear Brian’s shallow breathing from where he stands, and the soft rattle of metal on metal as the nurse works and the handcuff clinks against the bar of the bed. It’s minimal security at best, but Eddie isn’t worried about Brian escaping. 

 

“He’s going to come-to, shortly,” Eddie announces, and as if woken by those words, Brian begins to regain consciousness. Eddie ignores the back and forth Brian has with his nurse. He just waits for his opening, and reveals himself. 

 

“Oh, her bedside manner’s a little unorthodox, but you are in expert hands.” Eddie smiles down at Brian, watching him stare back in wide eyed bewilderment. “I think it’s about time you and I talked.”

 

He feels powerful as he sits opposite of Brian, able to take in every detail of the other man with perfect clarity. The distinct bright blue of his eyes, the way his throat bobs when he swallows, the hunched body language. Each detail creates a beautiful symphony for Eddie, he commits it to memory, and as he does so, something deep within the recesses of his mind starts to crawl its way forward. He had planned to say many things to Brian when he came around, but as the niggling familiarity Brian brings forward solidifies into recognition. He remembers Brian. He remembers every vivid detail of the first time he laid eyes on him and it stirs something in Eddie he hasn't felt in a long time. Excitement. 

 

Eddie decides on something else. 

 

“Don’t be afraid Brian,” Eddie says. He speaks gently, as if to a child. In a way, that’s exactly what Brian is to Eddie. Eddie’s mind corrects and supplies a better word almost immediately. 

 

_ Progeny _ . 

 

“Don’t be… Don’t be afraid? Are you kidding me right now?” Brian doubles over, a distressed groan hissing between his clenched teeth, “In less than a week, I dodged oncoming traffic, stood in front of a subway train, had a gun in my face, and… and been shot. I’m running from the FBI, and you-- You’re… a senator. I’ve been kidnapped by a senator.”

 

Eddie laughs, chin tucking toward his chest as he studies the small scuffs on toe of his otherwise immaculate shoe.

 

“Brian, I know it seems like…  _ There is no easy way out _ ,” his voice becomes hushed, “But you are standing at the precipice of a life you can’t even begin to dream of.”

 

Eddie pulls his chair closer to Brian’s, studies his face with an intensity that leaves Brian feeling more unsettled by the second. It shows in the way he struggles to hold eye contact, the way he turns his body slightly away from Eddie in his seat, every minute detail reveals so much, that Eddie knows how Brian is feeling as if he’s speaking it aloud.

 

“Everything is happening so fast,” Brian exhales and rocks in pain. Eddie pulls a pill from his pocket and presents it to Brian. 

 

“I’ve been tracking you since you ran into the FBI at your friends apartment. You’re wondering right now, why? Why you, you’re nobody. Right?” Eddie doesn’t linger, just enjoys the look of surprise on Brian’s face as his inner thoughts are laid bare. Eddie glances to the pill in its plastic bag, taking stock of the subtle way Brian’s tongue wets his lips and his pupils dilate in his periphery.

 

“One NZT pill. You can take this, and prove your innocence, but what comes after that?” 

 

Brian answers with another growl of pain as he tries to stay in his chair, his feet skidding against the concrete. 

 

“Time is slipping away so quickly, you think this feels bad now? It’s all downhill from here. When you look back at this, you might remember this as the last moment you felt vaguely human. Pain, desire, clouded with fear and uncertainty because your blinders are on, and you can’t see the whole picture, you can only see, feel, and live… in this moment, right here,” Eddie’s aloofness earns him a snort of contempt. Brian shakes all over, tucking his hands beneath his arms to try and steady himself. 

 

“You politicians really like to hear yourselves talk, huh?” 

 

“The difference between me, and other politicians, is you know I’m telling you the truth. And what’s more, Brian, I have something to offer you that can help you. What would you do if you could have as much NZT as you wanted, with no side effects?”

 

“How’s that even possible?”

 

The nurse steps forward, and Eddie watches Brian eye her warily. 

 

“With that,” Eddie nods to the device in her hands. “How it works doesn’t matter, what matters is, that booster will let you do the impossible. Every so often, you get one of these shots, and you can build a life you never thought you could have.”

 

“What’s the point if you’re only offering me one pill?” 

 

Eddie doesn’t mind Brian’s scrutiny, the way those sharp eyes try and tease out some kind of hidden truth.

 

“If things go the way I expect they will, you’ll have all the NZT you’ll need,” Eddie says, standing and tucking his hands in his pockets. Brian opens and closes his mouth, staring at the floor, brows drawn in confusion. 

 

“But… But why me? Why do you want to help me?” Brian asks. Eddie steps closer and slips his hand under Brian’s chin, lifting his face so they can look one another in the eye. There’s a tenderness in his grasp and affection in his smile as he looks down at Brian. 

 

“I need someone in a position you’ll soon be qualified to fill,” Eddie says, chuckling as he sees a flush creeps up Brian’s neck and across his cheeks. 

 

“But if you tell anyone, Brian. Anyone at all,” Eddie’s thumb smooths across Brian’s lower lip, “I will let you die in the most painful fashion possible. This conversation stays between us. If you can agree to those terms… then say yes.”

 

Brian stares up at him, his face schooling into something like defiance, but there’s a desperation bleeding through that Eddie could practically taste. 

 

“ _ Yes _ .”

 

Eddie nods to the nurse and presses the pill into Brian’s hands. The booster rushes through Brian’s system, and Eddie watches the change happen. He watches the pain fade and the scales fall from Brian’s eyes. 

 

“We’ll be in touch, Brian. You and I… Have quite a future ahead of us.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you're interested to see more don't forget to kudos & comment!


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